INITIAL PRIMARY TEACHER EDUCATION

ENGLISH MODULE 4

SIMPLIFIED NOTES (TOPIC 1 TO 7)

TOPIC 1: TEACHING TYPES AND FORMS OF SENTENCES

√ Sentence is a group of words which gives a meaning.

√ It is a group of words that expresses a complete thought.

• A sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a period or full stop (.), question mark (?)
or an exclamation mark (!).

• Construction of the sentence follows a general pattern which is not strict: subject, verb and an
object.

Subject

√ Is a word or group of words that tells whom or what the sentence is about.
• Subject may be found anywhere in the sentence, i.e, at the beginning, middle or end of the
sentence. E.g;

(i) Charity is a beautiful girl.

(ii) Hiding in the tall grass was a baby rabbit.

(iii) Ester is my ex-girlfriend.

Verb

√ Is a word that tells or asserts something about a person or thing.

√ It is an action word in a sentence. E.g;

• Hare runs very fast.

Predicate

√ Is the part of a sentence that says something about the subject.

• Just like subject, predicate may also be found anywhere in the sentence. E.g;

(i) The thief stole all the goats in the khola.

(ii) They should have visited Dar es salaam in Tanzania.

Types of sentences

1. Simple sentence

√ Is a sentence that contains a subject and a predicate.

√ It contains one independent clause. E.g;

(i) Yohane writes well.

(ii) Moses is a star.

2. Complex sentence
√ Is a sentence which contains one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.

• Independent clauses are also called main clauses while dependent clauses are also called
subordinate clauses.

• A dependent clause contains a finite verb but it cannot stand alone and cannot give a
complete meaning. It depends on the rest of the sentence to give its complete meaning. E.g;

(i) This is the girl whom you met last night.

(ii) When the rain came, people rejoiced.

3. Compound sentence

√ Is a sentence which contains two or more independent clauses.

√ These independent clauses are joined by a comma or a coordinating conjunction. E.g;

(i) October was hot, but November was even hotter.

(ii) The sun was shinning and the rain was falling.

4. Compound-complex sentences

√ Are sentences that contain two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent
clauses. E.g;

• Some farmers, who left the area, moved back to their homes, but several years passed before
the land became as fertile as before.

Forms of sentences

a. Statement (declarative)

√ Is a form of sentence that expresses a fact, opinion or a feeling. E.g

(i) Mzuzu is in Mzimba distinct.

(ii) I feel quite nostalgia for the place where I grew up.

b. Question (interrogative)

√ Is a form of sentence which asks a question e.g. Where are you going?

c. Command (imperative)

√ Is a form of sentence that order someone to do something. E.g;

(i) Open the window.

(ii) Shut the door.

d. Exclamation

√ Is a form of sentence which expresses shock, surprise or excitement and it ends with an
exclamation mark. E.g;

(i) What a good goal!

(ii) Look out!

(iii) What a descent suit!

Procedure for teaching types and forms of sentences

1. Introduce the lesson by saying that there different types and forms of sentences.

2. Ask learners to give or list examples of sentence types and forms they know.

3. Let learners explain the sentence types and forms they gave or listed.

4. Go over the definitions of the types and forms of the sentence with the learners.

5. Use different games to help learners understand the concept.

6. Help learners who do not understand the concept.

7. Give learners more practice for them to master the content.

Importance of teaching types and forms of sentences

a. Helps learners to make meaning of what they read with understanding.

b. Prepares learners effectively for them to achieve high literacy levels.

TOPIC 2: TEACHING SENTENCE ANALYSIS

√ Sentence analysis is the process of breaking a sentence into small parts of classes of speech
by means of using simple identification and syntactical analysis

Meanings of sentences

√ It is worth noting that arrangement of words can change the meaning of a sentence as shown
in the following sentences:

1. Ester only speaks English.

Meaning: Ester does not read or write English.

2. Only Ester speaks English.

Meaning: Nobody else speaks English except Ester.

3. Ester speaks English only.

Meaning: Ester does not speak any other language except English.

Ways of analysing sentences

1. Using grammatical items

2. Using item identification

3. Through syntactical analysis

1. Using grammatical items

√ A sentences is analysed by looking at its patterns such as subject, verb, object (direct object
or indirect object) and complement. That is,
(a) S + V

Exampl: The visitor came. (The visitor-subject, came-verb)

(b) S + V + O

Example: Patrick plays football. (Patrick-subject, plays-verb, football-object)

(c) S + V + C

Example: Charity is the queen. (Charity-subject, is-verb, the queen-complement)

(d) S + V + IO + DO

Example: The minister gave the students certificates. (The minister-subject, gave-verb, the
students-IO, certificates-DO)

(e) S + V + DO + C

Example: Mdapayambandine considered the educational visit unsuccessful.

(Mdapayambandine-subject, considered-verb, the educational visit-DO,
unsuccessful-complement)

2. Using item identification

√ A sentence is analysed by looking at its parts of speech and functions. For example;

Thom danced malipenga.

3. Through syntactical analysis

√ A sentence is analysed by looking at its major parts such as subject and predicate.

√ The subject can take the form of a noun or a noun phrase, which is composed of an article or
a noun (head).

√ The predicate may include a verb phrase which has a predicator and an object.

√ The predicator includes a verb phrase which has a modifier, a mood and a verb (head).

√ The object may be a noun phrase consisting of an article and the noun.

√ Modifier is a word or group of words that gives additional information about another word.

√ Mood is the form of a verb that assumes to show the manner in which the action denoted by
the verb is used.

√ Head is the word in a group of words that is central part and that is used in the same way as a
whole group.

√ Determiner is a word that limits the meaning of a noun.

√ Article is a word placed next to a noun to indicate the presence of a noun.

• All articles regardless of the type function as adjectives.

• There are two types of articles namely: definite article and indefinite articles.

1. Definite article "the"

• Is an article that addresses specific word forms and items. It is very specific and definite
hence its type. It is not placed in a sentence anyhow. It fits in certain scenarios as shown below.

Uses of definite article "the"

1. Used before noun that has been mentioned before in a sentence

E.g. Mr. Jeke bought a car. This year he has sold the car.

2. Used when referring to a specific person or thing

E.g. The man came home.

3. Used in front of a common noun to refer to a person if only one exists.

E.g. The world is full of evil.

4. Used before superlatives of comparisons

E.g. Charity is the prettiest girl in our class.

2. Indefinite articles " a" and "an)

Things to know about a and an

(i) a

√ Is used before a word starting with a consonant sound.

E.g. a /s/ school.

√ Is used with letters starting with the sounds /j/-Y and /w/-W.

(a) a one-sided-affair

(b) a university

(ii) an

√ Is used before words beginning with a vowel e.g. an /ai/ idea, and /o/ organ.

√ Is used before words that begin with a silent H-/h/ sound e.g. an hour, an honest man, an heir.

Uses of indefinite articles

1. Used to refer to one specified number of a class of individuals

E.g. Mr. Bow has a car.

2. Used to mean one (1)

E.g. I will see you in an hour.

3. Used before the name of a profession, trade, religion or occupation

E.g. Charity is a Christian.

4. Used when the speaker does not know the person he is going to name

E.g. A Mr. Kalinde teaches Chichewa in class D.

• In syntactical analysis, presentation of the sentence can be diagrammatical. E.g. the sentence
"The boy must have taken the book" can be presented diagrammatically as shown below:
Importance of sentence analysis

a. Helps learners to understand what sentence analysis is all about at the earliest level.

b. Equips teachers with skills and knowledge on how to handle sentence analysis.

Topic 3: TEACHING FUNCTIONAL WRITING

√ Functional writing is the practice of expressing specific information to mirror real-life

scenarios.

√ It is the type of writing that provides an individual with essential knowledge, skills and
understanding to enable one to work with confidence and independence in school, at work and
lifelong experiences.

Examples of functional writing

• Making advertisements, posters or notices

• How to make or do something

• Giving advice
• Inviting someone to something or telling someone about a specific situation.

Types of functional writing

1. Informative writing

√ Is the type of writing that provides information in a way that will tell the reader what they need
to know.

√ It aims at providing information by answering the Wh and H questions (Who, Where, Why,
When, How, Which).

√ Therefore, the text answers the Wh and H questions. For example; learners can be asked to
explain how to draw an elephant, which information to use in advertisements or how to wash a
car.

2. Persuasive writing

√ Is a type of functional writing that appeals to emotions and reasons.

√ It is used in advertisements to make readers think or feel a certain way about an idea or
product.

√ It has the power to influence or convince the reader to believe or take what one wishes to do.
E.g; Buy Chinese products.

√ Teachers can promote persuasive writing in learners by engaging them in making

advertisements.

3. Narrative writing

√ Is a type of functional writing that tells a story.

√ It develops by arranging events logically as they occurred. This means that one must organise
the story into the beginning, middle and end.

4. Creative writing

√ Is the type of functional writing that demands the writer to be imaginative and creative.

√ It aims at making the audience enjoy the final piece of writing. Examples include: poems,
plays, cartoons and short stories.

5. Descriptive writing
√ It involves describing something, someone or a place. There are two types of descriptive
writing namely: objective descriptive writing and subjective descriptive writing.

√ In objective descriptive writing, the writer reports accurately about the appearance of an
object.

√ In subjective descriptive writing, the writer includes his/her personal impressions when
describing an object.

6. Argumentative writing

√ This type of functional writing involves the use of evidence and facts.

√ It presents two sides of a single issue and covers the most important arguments for and and
against it.

Importance of functional writing

a. Expresses specific information about processes or procedures about something.

b. Assists learners to express ideas effectively.

c. Turns a complex concept into something that is more understandable to a reader.

TOPIC 4: RESEARCH IN EDUCATION

√ Research is defined as searching for and gathering information usually to answer a particular
question or problem.

√ It is the desire to find out how and why things happen in a certain way.

Process of a research

1. Identification of the problem or question.

2. Clarification of the problem.

3. Determining the information needed and how to obtain it.

4. Organisation of information

5. Interpretation of results.

Types of research
1. Basic/fundamental/pure research

2. Applied research

3. Problem-oriented research

4. Problem solving research

5. Quantitative research

6. Qualitative research

7. Educational research

1. Basic/fundamental/pure research

√ It is purely scientific in nature and is usually done in a laboratory on human, animal and plant
kingdom welfare to gain knowledge.

2. Applied research

√ Aims at improving a process of human welfare.

√ It attempts to develop generalisation about teaching and learning processes, instrumental

materials and behaviour of learners etc.

√ It can be classified as problem-oriented or problem solving research.

3. Problem-oriented research

√ Is conducted to find out the exact nature of the problem that is to be solved.

4. Problem solving research

√ Is aimed at discovering some solutions for some pressing practical problems.

5. Quantitative research

√ Aims at ensuring the quantity or amount of certain variables and making comparisons
between the variables using statistics and numbers.

6. Qualitative research

√ Involves collecting, analysing and interpreting information by observing what people do and
say by interviewing people or analysing documents.
√ It is classified into descriptive, analytical, conceptual and empirical researches.

a. Descriptive research

√ Describes what exists and may help to uncover new facts and meanings.

√ Its aim is to observe, describe and document aspects of a situation as it naturally occurs.

b. Analytical research

√ Focuses much on the final results rather than giving importance to the results.

√ It in involves critical thinking skills and the evaluation of facts and information relative to the
research being conducted.

√ The information is used to explain complex phenomena.

c. Conceptual research

√ Focuses on the concept or theory that explains phenomenon being studied.

√ The researcher thinks of the questions to be solved.

√ He/she uses observations thus no experiments are done.

d. Empirical research

√ Is gained by means of direct and indirect observations or experience.

7. Educational research

√ Is a method for understanding problems or issues in education systematically through

collection and analysis of data.

Types of educational research

• Teacher Education

• Curriculum Development

• School Climate

• Administrative Leadership

Importance of Educational Research

a. Helps to discover useful information in the teaching and learning process.

b. Provides evidence to support existing knowledge in the field of education.

c. Informs stakeholders in education about educational issues.

d. Helps researchers to gain valuable knowledge and experience in the area of study.

e. Adds significance to the reader's knowledge if published.

Stages of Educational Research

1. Problem identification

2. Drawing research plans

3. Data collection methods/strategies

4. Discussion of findings

5. Drawing conclusions and recommendations

6. Compiling research report

1. Problem identification

√ It involves identifying and isolating a problem area to be investigated.

√ The problem is translated into a question to guide the direction of one's research and to help
in planning for the research questions. For example, "Why do girls fail to complete primary
education in Malawi?".

2. Drawing a research plan

√ A research plan is also known as a research proposal.

√ It is a written outline of study.

√ Researcher explains in detail what they intend to do.

√ It should consider methods of data collection, data analysis and interpretation as well as
resources.

3. Data collection methods

√ Strategies such as administering a questionaire, interview and observation should be

considered.
Ways of collecting data

i. Observation using observation checklist.

ii. Questionaire using questionaire quide.

iii. Interview using interview guide.

iv. Document analysis using document.

v. Administering test using test items.

vi. Video recording of the lesson activities for the teacher to watch himself or herself in action.

4. Discussion of findings

√ This involves analysing and interpreting data.

Ways of analysing data

a. Organising data

√ It involves reducing the volume of information, dentifying significant patterns, grouping the
information and computing statistics.

√ It may also involve the use of tables, graphs or pie charts.

b. Description of data

√ Involves describing the important aspects of the study including individuals being studied and
setting.

Ways of data interpretation

a. Explaining the findings

b. Answering questions

c. Attaching significance to particular results.

5. Drawing conclusions and recommendations

√ After interpretation of the data, there is need to come up with conclusion.

√ Conclusion highlights the main topics of study.

√ When making a conclusion,

• look at the research questions and answer them based on the data gathered.

• make recommendations for new areas of future research supported by the findings of the
study.

6. Compiling research report

√ A research report is a document presenting a description of a research study.

Components of a research study

a. Background of the research

b. Literature review

c. Methodology used

d. Discussion of the findings

e. Results of findings

Importance of a research

1. It increases or revises current knowledge by discovering new facts.

2. It shapes how we behave in different situations.

3. It equips teachers with new knowledge in order to teach more effectively.

TOPIC 5: ACTION RESEARCH

√ Action research is the strategy for getting information about classroom successes and
challenges with the aim of improving classroom practices.

Action research is also known as reflection research.

Importance of Action Research

a. Helps the teacher to identity and solve classroom problems.

b. Helps to determine the workability of procedure so as to know whether there is need to try
something new or not.
c. Helps to improve one's teaching and learning skills.

d. Helps to reflect and improve on classroom practices.

e. Helps the teacher to try out new strategies for teaching.

f. Helps the teacher to reduce monotony in teaching by changing language learning activities.

How to select a topic for action research

1. Get a topic for action research from the problem or question one wants to investigate on.

2. Specify the research questions you want to answer. E.g. Why learners have problems on word
recognition?

√ Regarding this example, a teacher should reflect on the method or approach he/she uses to
teach word recognition. If the the teacher uses flash cards to teach word recognition, he/she
might want to find out whether flash cards are effective on word recognition or not.

Making a Research Plan

√ A research plan is a written plan for a research study that explains in detail what a researcher
wants to do.

√ It is also known as a research proposal.

√ In this plan, one explains in detail what he/she intends to do. This helps others to learn and
offer suggestions for improving the study.

The process of a Research Plan in Action Research

1. Problem statement

2. Research questions

3. Definitions

4. Literature review

5. Sampling

6. Data collection instruments

7. Procedure of data collection

8. Data analysis
9. Presentation of results

10. Discussion of results

Ways of collecting data in Action Research

a. Observation by the teacher, researcher, learners or other teachers.

b. Research logs which are filled by the teachers, learners or other teachers.

c. Video recording of lesson activities for the teacher to watch himself/herself in action.

TOPIC 6: DISSEMINATION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS

√ Dessminating research is the process of getting one's research findings to the target
audience.

√ Audience are people who watch, read or listen to something.

• The audience could be fellow teachers, educational officials, parents and other stakeholders in
education.

√ Research conference is a meeting at which research results are shared or disseminated.

√ Exhibition is the display of something e.g. research results for public viewing.

Areas to be included in the research report

1. Background of the research

2. Methodology used when collecting data

3. Interpretation of the results.

Ways of disseminating research results

a. Research conferences

b. Journals

c. Magazines
d. Internet

e. Drama

f. Videos

g. Exhibitions

Factors to consider when choosing ways of disseminating research findings

1. Level of interest and understanding of the target audience

2. Time availability

3. Choice of language in the presentation of research findings

NB: Teachers should learn how to desseminate research results to make the audience respond
accordingly.

TOPIC 7: PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION

√ Professional communication refers to exchange of thoughts, ideas or information at an

institution through writing, speaking or use of symbols.

Terminologies

1. Profession

√ Is an occupation which requires special education.

2. Effective communication

√ Is the rightful communication that helps teachers to achieve intended purposes or goals.

3. Hospitality

√ Refers to the welcoming nature.

Importance of professional communication

1. Helps to create good relationships amongst teachers and learners at a school.

2. Helps teachers and learners to make wise educational decisions about teaching and learning.

Communication in schools or colleges

√ Communication is the process of passing information to others.

√ Communication in schools or colleges may be done through assemblies or caucuses.

1. School Assemblies

√ Assembly is a gathering for a common purpose.

√ School assemblies are important occasions where teachers and learners meet together to
share knowledge, skills and encourage best practices to bring about quality education.

√ Different issues such as sickness of a teacher or a learner, responsibilities of a teacher or a

learner and allocation of teachers or learners are communicated during school assemblies.

√ Issues of cleanliness as well as internal school rules such as punctuality to school activities
are also communicated during school assemblies.

Importance of school assemblies

a. Improve the teaching and learning at the school.

b. Provide opportunities for teachers and learners to share ethical ideas and emphasise
different values for the smooth running of the school.

Ways of making the school assembly meaningful

1. Proper planning such as making priorities on what to communicate, how to conduct it, setting
the purpose, allocating time and resources needed.

2. Organising speech that is brief and clear with simple language.

NB: What has been communicated during the school assembly should be recorded in the
Assembly book.

2. Caucuses
√ A caucus is a meeting to examine issues.

√ Among other things, caucuses allow teachers to identify practices that improve students'
learning through common planning of school or college activities.

√ Caucuses can be formal or information depending on the circumstances that surround the
event.

√ Formal caucuses are procedural meetings where teachers discuss various issues that affect
the school.

√ They include staff meetings.

Characteristics of formal caucuses

1. Have defined agenda that may address school discipline, planning teaching records and
continuous professional development activities.

2. Give information based on circulars from the ministry.

3. Depends on proper planning, collaboration and active involvement of all teachers in

discussing the agenda.

4. Communicate the agenda to the staff well in advance and specify the date, venue and time of
the meeting.

Ways of improving educational standards in schools or colleges

a. Visits in and out of schools or colleges.

√ Principals, lecturers, headteachers and teachers should establish effective communication

with other college or school professionals through use of collaborative formal language.

b. Active involvement of learners or students in welcoming visitors to their school or college.

3. Having appropriate knowledge on use of English language for effective professional

communication.

Importance of staff caucuses

1. Promote quality educational standards.

2. Develop and sustain organisational culture to improve school practices.

3. Help in discussing how to improve students' academic performane.

4. Encourage innovation through continuous professional development.

Prepared and compiled by Yohane Moses (A Student at Kasungu Teachers' Training

College-IPTE 14 Cohort)

Call: +265882094419

WhatsApp: +265998656965